


October 21

by nightyn628



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Matt Murdock, Confused Matt, Happy Birthday Matt Murdock, M/M, Present Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27133880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightyn628/pseuds/nightyn628
Summary: "Frank." Daredevil is the one to say first. He takes a step forward, standing in the middle between the Punisher and the unconscious thugs like a mother hen. After seeing the way he acts, The ex-soldier can't help but releases a deep and long-drawn sigh."Calm down, Red. No one wants your victims tonight."The owner of the nickname raises his eyebrow questioningly."Why are you even h---""It's your birthday. So, Happy Birthday.”
Relationships: Frank Castle & Matt Murdock, Frank Castle/Matt Murdock, Matt Murdock & Franklin "Foggy" Nelson & Karen Page
Comments: 6
Kudos: 95





	October 21

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language. Please feel free to comment and correct my grammatical errors, misspelling vocabularies, and all of the weird things in this work. Thank You.

Around 11.40 PM on Tuesday, October 20.

Hell's Kitchen is still full of gunshots, a cry for help, and the loud ambulance sirens like always. But at least someone is trying to protect the people and making this city a better place for everyone. Day or night, that person never stop fighting against the injustice. Of course, this night, he is now fighting. Two thugs approach Daredevil with knives in their hands while the other two aggressively aim their guns at him. But. Before they can do anything, Daredevil is faster than them. The man without fear barely dodges the knives but manages to punch and kick them harshly.

Because of Daredevil’s quick movement, the bullets miss the target luckily. The loud echo sound of a bullet that crashing into the dumpster and the apartment's fire escape stair make the Devil of Hell's Kitchen stop for a moment. But even so, it doesn’t give all four thugs any chance of winning. The vigilante bares his teeth. Then, there are pathetic cries from the dark alley that will scare the shit out of everyone passing by.

In the end, the four thugs lay down on the road without their consciousness. The vigilante decides to leave them to the cops like the other days but, suddenly, he tilts his head. The man frowns under the black mask covering the top half of his face. Of course, he can remember that steady breath and the heartbeat that louder than everyone he know all his life.

It's him.

The sound of footsteps is getting louder as the distance between them gradually shrinks. The pair of black military boots finally stop in front of the man without fear. Daredevil doesn't need eyes to look at his face. He already knows the identity of the newcomer since the first heartbeat comes to his senses.

On the October night, the smell of garbage in that area mixes with blood and gunpowder. In front of Daredevil is Frank Castle. Also known as the Punisher. His black trench coat is fluttering under the dark sky of Hell's Kitchen.

"Frank." Daredevil is the one to say first. He takes a step forward, standing in the middle between the Punisher and the unconscious thugs like a mother hen. After seeing the way he acts, The ex-soldier can't help but releases a deep and long-drawn sigh.

"Calm down, Red. No one wants your victims tonight."

The owner of the nickname raises his eyebrow questioningly.

"Why are you even h---"

"It's your birthday. So, Happy Birthday.”

The Punisher says in his deep voice at the same time as the pendulum clock from somewhere in Hell’s Kitchen chiming to announce the time as it should. This time, it chimes to tell the people about the end of the day. And the beginning of the new day as well.

Now, it’s October 21. Matt Murdock's Birthday

"..." The birthday owner is so shocked. Matt can't find any words to talk back for a minute. But he tries his best.

"Oh, well... thank you? I guess?" The younger man says. It’s not the same voice he uses to threaten the criminals. It’s Matt Murdock’s soft voice that the Punisher doesn't hear it for a long while.

"But how--- Never mind. Karen."

The corner of Frank's mouth slightly raises.

"Yeah. Karen told me about your birthday."

Even hidden by a mask, Matt’s face is still hilarious. Both of them stay silent for a while. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen has no idea what he should do next in this weird situation. He almost forgets his own birthday but Frank Castle, of all people in his life, the fucking Punisher, is the first one to show up, remind him, and wish him on his birthday.

"Anyway..." this time Frank is the one to break the silence first. The Punisher reaches in his pocket and pulls out a rectangular box that slightly bigger than his palm. Matt tries to separate the heavy scent of dog and gunpowder from the box to examine the object in it.

"This is a gift for you."

The distance shrinks again as Frank approaches him and places the box on Matt’s palm. Daredevil blinks under his black mask while holding it in his right hand. The quite satisfying grin appears on Frank’s face.

"I've to go now. See you around, Red."

A black trench coat follows the movement of its owner. Matt Murdock is still standing there, listening to the footsteps and heartbeats that slowly fade away from his senses until the siren sound brings him back to the Earth again. Daredevil shakes his head and slips into the shadow with a birthday gift in his palm, leaving the unconscious thugs for Brett Mahony again as usual.

For Matt Murdock, this is the weirdest patrol night from all of his lifetime. But somehow, despite his confusion, this night manages to make him unawarely smile.

.......

During lunchtime, At the office of Nelson Murdock and Page.

Foggy Nelson and Karen Page pop into Matt's office with a giant birthday cake. They sing the happy birthday song and happily taking pictures together. While Foggy is sending their selfies to his girlfriend, Karen discovers a strange object in the blind lawyer's office that she never see it in this room before.

"Matt, there is a black dog plush on your desk. You know that?"

"Yeah. He's mine." Matt nods before handing over a paw-sized black dog to the only woman in this room. Karen explores it with her curiosity. It's just a simple stuffed animal. But if Matt put this little one on his desk, it might be something personal for him.

"Never seen him on your desk before. You just bought him this morning?" She smiles at the plush, tracing her finger on its tiny body. Somehow Matt is hesitant to answer this question. His cheeks turn red a little bit when he think of the incident last night. But he still tries his best to cover them with his usual calm.

"Well, Someone gave him to me as a birthday gift." That’s all he can say but this surely can’t fulfill Karen’s curiosity.

"Who?"

"A friend? I guess?" Matt doesn’t sure he could count Frank Castle as his friend but at least it sounds better than referring to him as a foe or a rival. Not that Matt wants him to be his friend. Not like that. Daredevil and Punisher can't be friends. But Frank is Karen's friend. This time it a lot easier to say that Frank is his friend too. 

"Hmm."

Matt bets that Karen is in her detective mode now. She examines his dog again to find any clues from the friend Matt referred to. And Matt hopes that she can't find out anything that relates to the Punisher.

"There's a little white birthmark here on his tummy. It looks like a skull for me." The detective pokes her finger at the birthmark she saw.

"Oh? Really?" Matt chuckles nervously when the word 'skull' came out of her mouth. He reaches his hand to get the dog back from Karen while trying to eliminate his urge to yell at Frank out loud. Apparently, the note that attached to the gift doesn’t tell him everything about his new dog.

"Sorry. I have a long talk with Marci. Are we going to finish this cake now?"

"Yes, we are."

Matt quickly puts his new dog on the desk and turns his attention to the birthday cake. Karen is still glaring at him with her bright blue eyes so, Matt has to send her a signal that he will explain it later. Finally, she retreats for now. They start eating, talking, and laughing merrily. It is another good time for everyone.

Meanwhile, in such a cheerful and heartwarming atmosphere, the golden sunlight comes through the window and baths a tiny black dog with its warmth. On the right side of the plush is a white card written in Braille. It’s the note from Frank that Matt found at the bottom of the box. 

'I've heard that you can't get a dog because of your sensitive nose. If you can't stand the smell, maybe you can own this one. Give him a name, Red. He's yours. Happy Birthday.'

And that is the gift Frank Castle gives to Matt Murdock on his birthday.

..................


End file.
